It’s a sad week, friends, and we are distracted by the losses of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. Today, we do a little Royals Round Up with chatter about Harry and Meghan, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Sarah Ferguson, and their daughter. Then, we share some listener emails and answer their questions to the best of our distracted…
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209. The Stormin’ Normans | William the Conqueror, William II, and Henry I
Today we travel back nearly a millennia to investigate the House of Normandy, the beginning of the line of non-English Kings. William the Conqueror was the first Norman (French) king of England defeating King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. What follows is the wild ride of William, his wife Matilda of Flanders…
204. Anne, Princess Royal
While we’re ranking the Royals, Alicia thought it was worth taking a moment to appreciate the hardest working of the bunch, the current Princess Royal, Princess Anne. An Olympic-caliber equestrian, Anne has attended more than 20,000 official engagements on behalf of the Crown, and is a patron or honorary president of more than 300 charitable…
200. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Dickie Solo
After the death of Edwina Mountbatten in 1960, Dickie still had another 19 years of living to do, and while he was single, he was in no way alone. He had romances with plenty of women in his later years, and according to many, he had male lovers – including, it is alleged, boys –…
198. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Careless People
Programming note: This episode is a bit more explicit than most, including strong language and descriptions of sex. If you listen with wee ones, use your judgment. The early ’30s were a roaring time for Edwina’s various romances, though two in particular would have far-reaching implications for her lovers. The first, with American actor Paul…
188. Charles II | The End of the Party
We have come to the last of our episodes about the merriest of monarchs, Charles II. He had a great run for half a century, but the good times for Chuck and his court stop in 1685. What might be the cause of his death? And what happens to the ladies he left behind? All…
187. The Wives of Julius Caesar | Cossutia, Cornelia, Pompeia, and Calpurnia
Though the Ides of March is long gone for the year, Alicia is engaged in some oratory this week and wanted to revisit a past episode about another famous orator – Gaius Julius Caesar. We’re taking stock of his life and times through his marriages, both the ones we’re sure happened, the one we aren’t…
186. Lady Colin Campbell
Lady Colin Campbell has led quite a life in her day, and one very connected into our upcoming storytelling journey. Today, it is crossover all about her trashy divorce, sticky royal spiderwebs, and so much more as we enter Lady Colin Campbell into our cinematic universe as a future player and source too. Listen ad-free…
177. Ivan the Terrible
You thought Henry the 8th was the worst. Welcome to his contemporary, Ivan the Terrible. Terrible might be too kind of a word. With eight wives and hundreds of thousands dead in his wake, Ivan was a master of cruelty and just might be the King of Trash for the 16th Century. Listen ad-free at…
176. Queen Ranavalona I, The Mad Queen of Madagascar (Encore)
If you worried that royal houses had gotten a little too genteel by the 19th century, the story of Ranavalona I of Madagascar will disabuse you of that pretty quickly. Seizing the throne in 1828 after the death of her husband, King Radama – despite not being the rightful heir to it – she immediately…